EDUCAUSE Live! May 29, 2008 1:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. CT, 11:00 a.m. MT, 10:00 a.m. PT); runs one hour

Patents in Higher Education: Issues Arising from the Blackboard Case

Special Guests

James Hilton
Vice President and CIO
University of Virginia

James Hilton is vice president and chief information officer at the University of Virginia, where he is responsible for planning and coordinating academic and administrative information technology, voice communications, and network operations on a university-wide basis. He is also a professor in the Department of Psychology. Hilton is an advocate of strong collaboration between academic and technology cultures in university environments. Prior to his current appointment, he held administrative and academic positions at the University of Michigan. Hilton is a three-time recipient of the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Excellence in Education Award, was named an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor (1997–2006) at U-M, and received the U-M Class of 1923 Memorial Teaching Award. He has published extensively in the areas of information technology policy, person perception, stereotypes, and the psychology of suspicion. Hilton received a BA in psychology from the University of Texas in 1981 and a PhD from the social psychology program at Princeton University in 1985.

Bruce Wieder
Partner
Dow Lohnes PLLC

Bruce Wieder is a member in the Media and Information Technologies practice group at Dow Lohnes. He specializes in patent litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as patent licensing and settlement agreements. He has extensive experience in a wide range of patent matters including the enforcement of clients' patent rights and defending clients against infringement accusations. Wieder regularly counsels clients regarding patents and related intellectual property matters. He has lectured on and is experienced in analyzing patent infringement, validity, and enforceability issues. Wieder is also experienced in representing clients before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, federal district courts, and the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His experience also includes the protection of communications, other high-tech systems, and computer software. Before joining Dow Lohnes, Wieder was a partner at Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis, a law clerk to the Honorable S. Jay Plager, and an engineer at Motorola. Wieder has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center since 1997 and is also an officer in the Giles S. Rich American Inn of Court. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Summary

Your host, Steve Worona, will be joined by James Hilton and Bruce Wieder, and the topic will be "Patents in Higher Education: Issuse Arising from the Blackboard Case."

The dispute between Blackboard and Desire2Learn over patenting course management software has highlighted a variety of questions about patents and patent enforcement in higher education. What role should patents play in academia’s highly collaborative, not-for-profit, revenue-strapped environment? As both producers and consumers of patented inventions, higher education has interests both diverse and deep. In this session, a respected patent litigator and leading CIO will explore key areas of patent law and discuss higher education's options and opportunities.

Related EDUCAUSE Resources

• Patents
• CMS
• A Statement [PDF 41 KB] from the Boards of Directors of EDUCAUSE and the Sakai Foundation (February 1, 2007)
• A Letter [PDF 39 KB] to the CEO of Blackboard from the EDUCAUSE Board of Directors (October 9, 2006)
• Archives of past EDUCAUSE Live! seminars